The fault is the lack of sugar in the product. By the way, chocolate will soon also be coming from Austria
Ritter Sport has an unusual problem: The German chocolate maker is not allowed to call his new creation chocolate.
There are two reasons for this: “The EU Chocolate Regulation and the EU Sugar Types Regulation,” explains Wolfgang Stöhr, Ritter Sport Managing Director in Austria, in an interview with KURIER. According to the food law regulations, a bar of chocolate consists not only of cocoa mass, cocoa powder and cocoa butter, but also of certain types of sugar that have their own criteria. But sugar is completely absent in the “Cacao y nada” variety.
Echo to New York
The sweetness comes exclusively from the fructose of the natural cocoa juice and therefore the sugar content in the end product is too low according to the regulation. A farce, but ultimately not a nuisance from a company perspective. On the contrary. At least from a marketing perspective. After all, even the New York Times reported on the bizarre situation and thus helped the company from Waldebuch in Baden-Württemberg to unexpected media coverage.
As an aside, the new flavor creation will still be sold, explains Stöhr. Stop without being labeled “chocolate” on the bar or being advertised as such anywhere. In Austria you will look in vain for chocolate in many places. For the time being, they are only available at Meinl am Graben in downtown Vienna.
Speaking of Austria: The family company is now also producing outside of its home country for the first time – in Burgenland. As part of an asset deal, Ritter took over the chocolate factory from Mars Austria in Breitenbrunn, including the production facilities and the (former (Mars) brand Amicelli).
Austria
“Austria is not cheap as a location, but it is reliable and there is a good connection to the parent location in Waldebuch,” says Stöhr, who employs 70 people at the location, many of whom have been taken over by Mars. “The overall package in Breitenbrunn was right, including the acquisition of the trademark rights.” Parts of the production are now being shipped to Burgenland, where previously only one roll waffle line (for the production of Fanfare, Amicelli, Milky Crispy Rolls) has been in operation. “Now a real chocolate production facility is moving in here. This year we want to produce 2,500 tons of Amicelli, 3,500 tons of Ritter rum and 5,500 tons of 100 gram bars in Breitenbrunn. “
Market continues to grow
In contrast to many other industries, chocolate makers cannot complain about sluggish business in Corona times. The market is growing, in Austria by more than six percent in 2020, according to the Nielsen figures (food retailers including Hofer and Lidl). And the fronts are clearly defined: Milka remains the market leader with a share of 39.3 percent, followed by Lindt (11.2 percent) and Ritter Sport (7.5 percent). Large shifts are not to be expected, they tend to take place in the per mil range.
Vegan varieties in the plus
Anyone wondering why more and more vegan varieties are being placed on the shelves will get the explanation from the expert Stöhr: “Here there are recent growth rates of 30 percent.” The high-quality bars with dark chocolate with little are also a climber in the ranking of popular varieties Sugar content.
Or no sugar at all, as is the case with “Cacao y Nada”, which from a legal point of view is not chocolate at all.
